


At The Water's Edge

by c0cunt



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Eventide: Hance Zine, M/M, Nymphs & Dryads, implied potential death, soft hance for the soul
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 13:16:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12482460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/c0cunt/pseuds/c0cunt
Summary: Water and earth nymphs usually don't have many chances to interact, so Hunk is pretty surprised when a water nymph shows up at his temple.They get along swimmingly.





	At The Water's Edge

**Author's Note:**

> my second piece for Eventide: Hance Zine  
> hope you enjoy it~!

 

Terra nymphs were not supposed to befriend water nymphs.  They were too different, Hunk had always been lectured, too flaky to be anything more than a nuisance.  But they had probably never met a nymph like Lance, he reasoned.  Lance seemed to be the stereotype, but he had wandered further inland than any of his fellow water nymphs.  He had to’ve, to reach Hunk’s sandstone temple on the edge of a desert, looking lost and dehydrated.  Hunk couldn’t just ignore someone that had collapsed at the entrance to his temple, seeking shelter and directions, especially not a fellow nymph.

 

“How did you even get this far inland?”  Hunk asked, as he brought a large pitcher of cold water to the tired nymph.  He was dressed in a pair of tiny, metallic shorts, that reflected light like the surface of still water, with a pale length of cloth casually thrown over his shoulders that Hunk knew should’ve been dripping wet.  The water nymph gratefully reached for the water, perking up slightly as he took a large gulp straight from the pitcher, before throwing most of the water over his cloth.  The heat of the desert greedily evaporated the water that didn’t touch his cloth, but he looked relieved as he bounced to his feet much faster than Hunk thought he should have.

 

“Dunno, honestly.  Followed a few paths, tried to read human chicken scratch, and now here I am.  The name’s Lance, don’t forget it,”  He said cheerfully as he bounced around the small temple, like a bird flitting around its new cage.  Hunk blinked slowly in surprise when Lance reached the altar, and bent down to pray, as if Terra would give her blessings to a water nymph.  There was no reason for her not to, but Terra almost only blessed those that tended to her, and a water nymph had their  Nāmaka …

 

“Uh.  I’m Hunk?”  He offered, as Lance finished his circuit of the temple.  Lance’s eyes slowly traveled up and down Hunk’s body, taking in the large man’s shirt of tanned hide, and the short grass skirt around his hips, and grinned lecherously.  Hunk had never been self conscious before, but now he felt his cheeks heat up as Lance met his eyes again.

 

“The name suits you, at least.  Dunno what  Maitagarri, bless her and thank her for her gifts, was thinking when she called me  _ Lance,” _  He snorted, as if it were the most ridiculous name he’d ever heard, as Hunk’s face heated even more.  Privately, Hunk thought that Maitagarri was a strange name, and that Lance was relatively normal, but who knew what was going on through the minds of the goddesses.  

 

“It’s a fine name,” Hunk said neutrally as he picked up the abandoned pitcher.  “But...Why  _ are _ you here?”  He asked instead, wondering if the other nymph had just plain gone crazy, and was hoping to die alone in the desert he watched over.  Lance stopped hopping around, and turned to face Hunk with a contemplative look on his face.

 

“I...Think I was bored?  I mean, I’ve been everywhere the ocean has to offer, and I just...I wanted to see what else there was.  Maitagarri has blessed me, and I love her and the gifts she has given me, but…”  Lance hesitated, unable to think of the right words to describe just how  _ lonely _ it was at sea.  Most of the other nymphs didn’t stray from Maitagarri’s sight, close to the shore and content to play with seafoam all day.  But, try as he might, he just wasn’t  _ happy _ there.  Maitagarri was kind enough to let him roam, blessing him with safe travels wherever in her domain he would roam.  But Terra was out of her control, and she had been merciless to Lance, stumbling terrified and wide-eyed into one of her temples.  It had been a shock, but Lance was not surprised to realize he had  _ enjoyed _ every bit of time he had spent on land, and he would be forever grateful to Hunk for the water.

 

“Is it alright if...I stay here a little bit?  This might not be one of Maitagarri’s, but I feel safer here than I did out there,” Lance asked hesitantly, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder.  He wasn’t sure what lay beyond in the sands, but he knew without being told that there would not be water out there for longer than he was comfortable with.  Hunk did not even have to think before he was nodding his agreement, to let Lance stay.  How could he turn down a fellow nymph in his time of need?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Days turned into weeks, turned into months, and yet Lance remained.  After the first week, Hunk had timidly asked Lance to help him with the chores, which Lance had jumped at the chance to do - he had become useful, in keeping the parched fruits and vegetables from drying out so quickly, if he stood near them in the garden for a few minutes daily.  Their quiet daily interactions burrowed their way into Hunk’s heart, and gradually he stopped thinking of Lance as a visitor, but as a permanent resident.  With him, for him, together - just the thought alone made butterflies squirm in his chest and belly.  But, Hunk was concerned too, for the longer Lance stayed, he became less...Lance.  Much more sedate and quiet, more like a Terra nymph in the way his muscles strained underneath newly rough skin.  The cloth on his shoulders had become much too dry, and stayed in place like it had been in too much starch; even his metallic shorts did not reflect as they had, when he had first arrived.

 

“Uh...Lance?”  Hunk started, twisting a nervous hand in his shirt.  Lance looked up slowly from the weaving he had been working on, a task that he had learned from Hunk, and blinked just as slowly, waiting for Hunk to continue.

 

“Are you...Do you ever think of going back to the ocean?  To Maitagarri?”  Hunk asked, tripping over his tongue.  He doubted Lance would appreciate being asked if he was okay, but the water nymph looked like he was about to cry as he jumped to his feet, moving faster than Hunk had seen him move in weeks.

 

“D-do you want me to leave?”  Lance asked, wrapping his sheet tightly around his shoulders, as if to protect himself.  Hunk raised his hands, a universal sign of surrender, before babbling.

 

“No, no!  Not at all, I don’t ever want you to leave, but.  You’ve been looking and acting so sad, and I couldn’t help but think it was maybe because you’d been so far away from your goddess.  I mean, we are awfully close to the desert, and your cloth had dried out awhile ago…”  Hunk slowly trailed off, hands falling to his sides as he stared at his feet.  “I was worried that you were staying here for my sake, and I don’t want you hurting because of me.”  He finished, feeling small and vulnerable in a way he couldn’t remember having felt before.  The only movement in the temple was the air as they breathed, until anxiety made Hunk’s hands twist up together just above his belly button.

 

“Oh, Hunk,” Lance breathed, like a prayer, as he stepped into Hunk’s space and took hold of the larger man’s hands.  Anxiety drained out of Hunk’s body through his hands, and he leaned his head against Lance’s shoulder, reveling in Lance’s soothing presence.

 

“I haven’t left because I didn’t  _ want to. _  I love everything about being here, from tending the plants to tracking down deer.  I feel safe here, with you, and I…”  Lance trailed off, before swallowing loudly near Hunk’s ear, and continued in a whisper.  “I...I want to belong to you.  Like a name, like the temple you take care of, even though I won’t last much longer so far from the shore…”

 

For a second, Hunk felt frozen.  Paralysed by the admission, and knowing that if he were to go out to sea, Hunk would deteriorate just as Lance had.  There were stories of Terra nymphs who had gone out to sea, tempted by the beauty of the shoreline - Terra nymphs sink like stones.  There had to be a way…The solution hit him like a bolt of lightning, and he stood up straight, staring down at Lance with shining eyes.

 

“We can move the temple,” Hunk said slowly, squeezing Lance’s hands to keep him from interrupting his idea.  “Closer to the shore.  I’m sure that our goddesses wouldn’t mind sharing a shoreline temple.  And if they do, we can build two temples.  Why didn’t we think of this before?”

 

Lance let out a small snort as he pulled Hunk down.  Their foreheads pressed together softly, before Hunk tilted his head just a little bit.  Electricity shot through them, where their lips touched, sending shivers down Hunk’s spine as Lance pressed back more firmly.  Their goddesses, they now knew in their souls, couldn’t deny the happiness of their nymphs.


End file.
